'Harry's Law' Should Be Illegal, Criminal Abuse of Kathy Bates' Talent

Before it premiered Monday night, the concept of Kathy Bates starring in a new TV legal drama seemed as likely a winner as Paula Deen entering the Pillsbury Bake-Off. Instead, NBC's new legal drama may soon become its biggest loser. Despite the talents of Kathy Bates, the first episode of "Harry's Law" was so silly and predictable, the show's writers should be hauled off to jail.

I was initially willing to suspend my disbelief that corporate patent lawyer Harriet Korn (the Bates character) would throw away her $500 an hour law practice (hopefully she didn't have a mortgage to pay) and set up shop in a shoe store in one of Cincinnati's most crime-riddled neighborhoods. I was even willing to accept that Bates' ditsy blond fashionista assistant Jenna (Brittany Snow) would insist on keeping the shoe store side of the business alive, coquettishly answering the phone, "Harriet's Law and fine shoes."

My patience ebbed, however, as the premiere episode of "Harry's Law" dragged on in a painfully slow hour of unbelievable courtroom scenes that stretched my credulity so thin, I thought it would snap.

Given that "Harry's Law" is written by David Kelly of "Boston Legal," "The Practice" and "Ally McBeal" fame, one would think this Golden Globe and Emmy award-winning writer could blend silliness and the law as cleverly as he did on his previous shows. Instead, the silly scenes in "Harry's Law" are just silly, not satirical or funny. One wonders if, like a fading beauty still seeing her younger image reflected in the mirror, Kelly just assumes his material is funny because it once was.

One example from the first episode of "Harry's Law" that seemed especially implausible (and trust me, it's hard to choose just one) was the scene in which Kathy Bates argues for her client's innocence by putting the nation's drug laws on trial. I have watched enough "Law & Order" to know this could never happen in a real court room. The opposing attorney would object, the judge would sustain the objection, and if Bates persisted she would be hauled off by a bailiff. But in this episode of "Harry's Law," the judge actually listens raptly to Bates' spiel as if it were the first time he has ever heard such arguments. Worse, he finds her logic so persuasive he suspends Bates' guilty client's sentence (cue the violins). Even John Boehner would have remained dry-eyed at such obvious schmaltz.

Despite the felonious writing, Kathy Bates manages to shine in "Harry's Law," like a diamond ring in a Cracker Jack box. She is so good an actress, she could make the proverbial phone book seem riveting. One can only imagine how compelling a TV show "Harry's Law" would be if Kelly delivered some dialog worthy of her talents.

Source:
"Harry's Law," NBC